How old is Katherine Grainger, how many Olympic rowing medals has she won and when was she named a Dame?
A true legend of British sport, the rowing star is Team GB's most decorated female Olympian
KATHERINE Grainger is a true sporting legend, who has won more Olympic medals than any other British woman.
But how many times has the rower stood on the podium, when did she pick up her gongs and how have her achievements been recognised? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Katherine Grainger?
Katherine Grainger was born in Glasgow on November 12, 1975 and grew up with her family in Aberdeenshire.
She took up rowing as a teen when attending the University of Edinburgh in 1993, where she was studying for a Bachelor’s degree in law.
Grainger followed with a Master’s in Medical Law and Medical Ethics from the University of Glasgow and a PhD in law from King’s College, London.
As a rower, she represents the St Andrew Boat Club in Edinburgh and the Marlow Rowing Club.
Grainger first tasted success in the World Championships in 1997, when she was part of the bronze medal-winning eights team.
In total, she has won eight World Champs medals to go along with her Olympic glories, six of them gold.
The 42-year-old was awarded an honorary doctorate of the University of Aberdeen in 2017 and became chair of UK Sport the same year in recognition of her achievements.
She was made MBE in the 2006 birthday honours, a CBE in 2013 and finally named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year Honours.
How many Olympic medals has Katherine Grainger won?
Grainger claimed the first of her Olympic rowing medals back at Sydney 2000, when she took the silver in the women’s quadruple sculls.
She repeated the feat in the next two games, as part of the coxless pair at Athens 2004 and the quadruple sculls again at Beijing in 2008.
Finally, at her fourth Olympics she went one better, bringing Britain a glorious gold medal in the double sculls alongside Anna Watkins.
Four years later at Rio de Janeiro she claimed yet another silver, bringing her total personal medal haul to a record-breaking five, spread across 16 years.